I'm no Marksman

S

Sev

Private
Minuteman
Nov 16, 2010
5
0
36
#1
As the titles says I am by no means a Marksman nor do I believe I will be anytime soon. Funds. But I want a rifle capable of at least a 1.5 MOA at 150 yards. I know this isn't hard to do considering bolt actions of today or even ten years ago.

I was all for dropping quite a bit of money on a nice gun that I could make one hell of a tack driver out of. That is until I took my brothers .308 Ruger M77 Hawkeye deer hunting. Man, was that beast heavy and no fun to lug around. It gave me some perspective on what I need. Not what I want.

So I need a gun that can pull double duty. I want to be able to go out on a weekend and practice with my rifle at a range and also use it as a varmint/hunting gun. For the past several days I have been absolutely in love with the T/C Venture but tonight at Academy I was reintroduced to an old love sitting on the shelf; a brand new Stevens 200 for $249. I was floored. That's easily twenty dollars cheaper than anywhere I can find it online and I don't have to consider shipping or the FFL transfer fee.

So, my question. Considering that I want a gun for some range fun and also be capable of hunting deer or maybe even hogs, would the Stevens 200 be the better choice than the T/C Venture?

I know the Stevens 200 is almost a direct copy of the ever popular Savage 110 Minus the Accustock and Trigger. What I am unsure about is the barrel on the Stevens...

And then there is the evil VS issue of .270 or .308. For some reason my father has me disliking the 30.06. Maybe I feel it's too much round for 100 pound deer...
 
#3
Re: I'm no Marksman

A .308 is GOBS of rifle for deer. There is no sense going bigger unless you just want more boom. I would suggest since it sounds like you interested in something light and fun to shoot you look at a .243, .260, .7-08, or the .308. Any of those will be plenty for deer and be fun at the range. I would also suggest getting something that will give you room to grow as a shooter. By this I mean get a Rem 700, Savage, or something else that has some aftermarket options once you learn more about what it actually is your interested in shooting. Hope this helps.
 
#4
Re: I'm no Marksman

Thanks for the welcome...

I guess what I am actually aiming for is reassurance to buy the Stevens 200 since my funds are limited with a son on the way. It may be easier for some to spend that kind of money but I have to be positive.

My apologies for posting a thread that has, i'm sure, been covered more times than I can guess. Didn't realize multiple threads on a forum were bad.

Edit; and thank you for the response ykrvak.
 
#5
Re: I'm no Marksman

I have had experience with the stevens rifle. I can say that it will not be a 1.5 100yd gun for two major reasons the trigger is absolutely the worst of any on the market and in the stevens model cannot be changed out unless you have a smith do something completely custom built not an aftermarket trigger. The second reason is the flimsy stock they are not worth the material they are made of. I don't just say this from the experience of one individual rifle but I have had my hands on a dozen or so all of them had the same crappy trigger
 
#7
Re: I'm no Marksman

I was under the impression from multiple threads and articles that the trigger could eventually be changed out? That a trigger for the Savage 110 would work in the Stevens 200.
 
#9
Re: I'm no Marksman

It's up to you where your comfort level is as far as money spent. Most folks here are way into accuracy and long range shooting. That costs a bunch of money, you can't get around it. My experience is inaccurate rifles are not fun to shoot. They are frustrating. Crappy triggers lead to bad shooting habits. Lousy stocks make for inconsistant accuracy and more frustration. If you get the Stevens, you very well might sell it later and buy something else, spend more money trying to upgrade it, or lose interest and never shoot. My advice is to save a bit more money and try to get a used Remington 700. You can find a good used one for not a huge amount of money. Parts are available, everyone will work on one, and you can always sell it if you need to. I know that's not what you want to hear with a kid on the way, but I think you'll be way better off in the long run. Your choice.
 
#12
Re: I'm no Marksman

search the used forum on here though most are "customs." (hate that word, its the new "deluxe") but i agree with the last few posts. even if you have to put one on "lay away" for a short while. the end pleasure will be worth the pain. a used rem, tikka or savage will serve you very well. i guess im saying if you spend a little more, you will get a lot more rifle. and by throwing in a few dollars here and there over the years with some TLC you may have a fantastic rifle you will be proud to pass on to your son.
 
#13
Re: I'm no Marksman

we have plenty of guys here that buy a $200 stevens and swap in a good barrel and stock and shoot quite well with them. the SSS trigger available at brownells and midway will be a great trigger and everyone thats tried one will say so im sure. rem 700s are great guns too. savage will allow you to swap your own barrel. there are a few decent ones here occasionally. MWRoseberry i think it was shot well with the stevens skinny barrel til he could get a better one. more used nice savage stocks as people upgrade
 
#15
Re: I'm no Marksman

hello, Marksman

If i'm understanding your post correctly, you are looking for a 308 rifle capable of 1.5 m.o.a. at 100 yrds? No matter what you here, at the price range you stated a savage (stevens) will meet that bill.
I went through the same situation with a gentleman i worked with, and i offered to buy his rifle if it didn't shoot. Two weeks later, I said sell me that rifle, he said, no way!! Woodchucks at 200 yds with factory ammo is great.. A savage or Stevens will do you fine>>
 
#19
Re: I'm no Marksman

The Stevens will easily do what you want even bone stock. The trigger can be lightened somewhat down to about 2-2.5 lbs safely. There are plenty of afetrmarket parts for later when you want to upgrade it. Remingtons are great guns but they cost more.
 
#20
Re: I'm no Marksman

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VYD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">S A V A G E

Swap nothing... </div></div>

or at least if you have to swap something, you can do it yourself. look at some of the savage people posts and you will see they shoot good, have plenty of aftermarket stuff available.
 
#21
Re: I'm no Marksman

I promise you a stevens can be made into a shooter. We have 17.00 in my brothers 7mm-08 and it will easily bug hole a group at 100 and be at .75" at 150. If he had a better scope he'd probably do even better with it. I am Still running the stock trigger and barrel and I easily hit 12" targets at 930 yards with my Stevens. Handloading and knowing what you're doing on bedding the action and setting up your scope is king.

Here is the cheap stock upgrade you can do until you can afford something better.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...436#Post1731436

For stocks on a hunting rifle I would go with the B&C duramax. The medalist I run is kinda heavy if you're having troubles with the Ruger in weight. Also I'd go 308 as stated before and cut down your barrel to 20". I'm about to cut my barrel down to 19" on the stock barrel just to take out the last three inches where I get the most heat issues (thermal camera is good ;)). And hopefully have a couple more rounds before I start throwing rounds.

Here is your shopping list.

Stevens in 308
10x SS (300.00) or 10x Busnell 3200 tactical (200.00) For your shooting these scopes would be perfect and having the mildots you can actually use is king in getting on target
Rings - TPS (if you can afford them) Burris Tactical if you can't afford the TPS
EGW one piece base
Blue lock tite on your action screws and scope base screws - make sure your rear tang is floated and follow the instructions on bedding your stock.

Later down the road:
SSS Trigger
B&C medalist
Lother barrel cut down to 20"

But handloading is KING with any rifle. If you don't handload you'll never get the accuracy out of it that it's capable of. See my sig for a 5rd group at 100 with my stevens. PM me anytime if you ever have any questions or can't seem to get your rifle to shoot as well as you'd like.

Good luck,
Merritt
 
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